NT baker wins national comp

Baker Deborah Trebilcock has proven that training in the Northern Territory is a recipe for success by winning the Apprentice Baker title at the national Excellence in Baking 2014 competition in Tasmania on the weekend.

The Charles Darwin University Certificate III in Retail Baking student and mother-of-two is an apprentice at Bakers Delight in Palmerston and decided on a career change after making her own wedding cake.

She beat five apprentice finalists from throughout Australia to take home the $1500 prize and trophy.

Deborah said that although she was thrilled to be recognised, it was the opportunity to learn and improve that was her great driver.

“It was a huge honour to win and to be recognised at the national level not only for myself but also for the CDU lecturers who are so passionate and have encouraged me the whole way,” she said. “But the experience overall and meeting industry professionals was the highlight.”

Originally from Alice Springs, Deborah said she had always loved baking and decided to pursue her interest after moving to Darwin and enrolling with CDU.

“I always had a passion for baking and I thought ‘why not make a career out of something that I love?’,” she said.

Deborah said she would use the prize money to buy cake decorating equipment to help her to develop her skills.

This is the second consecutive year a CDU student has won the national competition. Last year Certificate III in Retail Baking student Chris Field won Apprentice Baker at the national Excellence in Baking 2013 competition.

CDU Commercial Cookery and Bakery Team Leader Robert Schwerdt said the second consecutive win was a great endorsement of the high standard of training at CDU and quality of students in the Territory.

“The event organisers were asking if there was something special in the water up here,” Mr Schwert said. “They were gobsmacked by the calibre of the students training in the NT. These competitions are not only a great opportunity to showcase NT skills and expose students to career opportunities, when our students achieve such great results, it encourages the others to excel.”

The Excellence in Baking 2014 competition is an initiative of the Baking Association of Australia.